A Third McAllister
by Writers Block 420
Summary: There was another person that went into the cave. Jack/OC
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I only own Mickey McAllister! **

Off the coast of Mexico, in the Yucatan, a ship was floating innocently on the water. It was small compared to your average ship, but it was home to a group of the best cave divers and rock climbers around.

"No picture, Charlie," A man with an accent called to a young woman who was trying to fix the antennae on the boat. "This antenna's a piece of junk."

"How's that?" Charlie called back down after tweaking a few wires.

"Got it!" the guy said as the radar cleared up on the computers.

"I don't know why we have Strode working with the tech," a woman said coming on deck. "All he does is have problems." The woman joked. Her dark black hair was pulled back in a ponytail and she walked around deck wearing a pair of white shorts paired with a men's t-shirt.

"I don't see you volunteering, Mickey." Strode told her.

"Hey!" she defended. "I offered but you thought you were better than a professional hacker."

Charlie laughed at the two of them as they 'argued' like brother and sister. Charlie turned back once she heard two people coming out of the water.

"Briggs and Top are back!" she called to the bickering 'children'.

"Strodey!" Briggs called, alerting the others of his presence just after Charlie spoke. "Get your skinny ass down here."

Strode walked over as the two diver stood on the platform attached to the boat. "Boys," he greeted. "You found it yet?"

"No," Briggs told him. "We looked exactly where your sonic mapping said we should."

Mickey, having heard the complaint walked over, patting Strode on the back. "I told you I should have done it."

"Christ," Strode said, ignoring Mickey's remark. "My kids could get in and find faster than you two."

Briggs shook his head, leaning down to help pull Top on the boat, as he was still weighed down with diving gear.

'Jack and Tyler back yet?" the black man asked.

"Not yet," Mickey shook her head. "Let's hope they have better luck." She sent another look in Strode's direction, as if saying that she could have been more accurate.

Strode shook his head, not replying before taking the boy's gear below deck.

The four of them then stood in front of the monitors looking for Tyler or Jack's unit. The screen beeped before outlining a section on the computer.

"That's Tyler's unit," Top noticed. "He found it."

Strode tapped a few keys to bring up a closer image.

"Bastard did it again," Briggs shook his head.

"Boy got all the luck," Mickey told him with a smile. "He did learn from the best."

Top let out a laugh. "You're being conceited again."

Mickey just shrugged, she was the best, and it was a fact.

"Yeah well Jack's gonna be pissed,' Briggs said walking away as he unzipped his wet suit, Top having already changed out of his. "He called time five minutes ago."

Mickey rolled her eyes. "Tyler never listens," she reminded him.

A few minutes later they could all hear Jack and Tyler at the stern of the boat.

"You don't have to say anything," the younger man said straight away. "I know it was stupid, but we got it."

"I call time and you surface," Jack told him.

Tyler nodded just as Mickey stooped at the step leading onto the deck watching the brothers. Jack dropped his flippers and tank onto the ground before turning and grabbing Mickey from behind.

"Hey, baby," he said kissing her cheek as she squirmed.

"Your getting me wet," she giggled pushing away from him. Jack shook his head with a laugh before following her into their cabin to get changed.

Just as was unzipping his wetsuit he noticed what she was wearing.

"Is that my shirt?" she shrugged not answering the question. Jack shook his head with a smile before switching out into warmer clothes. "You wear my clothes more than you wear yours."

"And?" Mickey asked raising a brow. Jack didn't say anything; he just put on a pair of pants and a shirt before walking over and lifting her onto the small desk that was in the room.

"I'm not complaining," he told her before giving her a kiss. A knock on the door sounded before Charlie's voice came through.

"Hey guys, we're receiving a video call from Dr. Nicolai. Strode's just working on the connection."

"We'll be right there Charlie," Mickey replied throwing on a sweater that coincidentally wasn't hers, before walking out the door with Jack in tow.

"How's that?" they heard from in the engine room as Strode fiddled with a few wires. "You got a signal there yet?"

"Not yet, Strodey," Charlie told him, looking at the computer.

'And now?"

"Yeah!" Charlie said just as Dr. Nicolai appeared on screen drinking coffee.

"Dr. Nicolai," Jack greeted, letting him know that they were they.

"Hello," the doctor replied with a smile.

"Hey. It's Jack. You got some good news?"

"Yeah," Nicolai said. "I got the funding."

"You do?" Jack asked shocked. "Really?"

"We've done the surface scans," Nicolai informed him. "The cave is huge, Jack. There is a river," He said, pointing at a few pictures behind him. "Off the main cavern and there's nowhere it can come out for at least 90 miles."

"Sounds like the Amazon of underground rivers, huh?" Tyler said to a grinning Jack.

"Yeah, it does," he agreed, giddy.

"Dr. Jennings," Dr. Nicolai continued. "Our biologist is bringing a cameraman to shoot the whole thing. But, you know, it's gonna be tough. Which is why I need your team, and I need you to run the show."

"Great," Jack said as everyone smiled. "When do we start?"

"We want to start right away." Nicolai told the team.

"We're in a 100 percent," Jack affirmed. "You got it."

"That's great, Jack!" Nicolai said pleased. "I can't wait to see you here. Ciao!"

"Thanks, Dr. Nicolai," Jack waved as everyone else called a goodbye. Everyone started high fiving each other, excited before leaving to get some rest for their early morning.

Back in their cabin, Mickey curled up next to Jack as they both stared at the ceiling.

"A new adventure?" Mickey asked tracing her fingers over his stomach.

"Yeah," Jack smiled, running his fingers through her hair. "Somewhere that has never been explored before."


	2. Chapter 2

They arrived at the dive site via helicopter a few days later with their gear.

They took some of their gear out of the 'copter and let a crew there do the rest.

Mickey and Jack grabbed their packs then walked up a small incline to great Nicolai.

"Good to finally meet you, Dr. Nicolai." Jack said holding his hand out.

"Pleasure," the doctor nodded at him before holding a hand out to Mickey.

"Mrs. McAllister," Nicolai said as she reached him.

"Just Mickey, Doc," she told him with a smile as her hand met his.

"Of course, let me show you around,"

"Please," Jack said as he and Mickey followed the doctor.

"What do we got?" Jack asked as they walked by a few tents.

"That's the main cave," Nicolai pointed to an opening in the rock face. "Hidden under a church. And half of the mountainside."

Over on one side of the site, Tyler, Briggs and Top were checking over the gear.

"Tyler," Top said getting the younger man's attention.

"Yeah?"

"Everything made it okay," Top told him. "Take a look at this mix computer. It got a little banged up."

Tyler grabbed it, observing the screen.

"Yep, alright. Break it down and I'll ask Mickey to reinstall the programming."

Tyler paused, looking over into a covered area, noticing a pretty scientist.

He pushed his sunglasses off of his nose, running his eyes over her. "Hello,"

His remark caught Briggs and Top's attention, causing them to look over at what snared his eye.

"I'm just gonna go visit with a fellow scientist," Tyler said, grabbing a rebreather.

Briggs nodded his head sarcastically while rolling his eyes as the man walked away.

Tyler entered the tent as the scientist was looking into a microscope.

"Hi," Tyler started.

"Hi," the woman replied absently still studying the sample.

"I'm Tyler McAllister," he told her, trying again. "I'm the first scout."

"One second," she said looking away from the specimen and touching a few keys on her computer. She then looked at Tyler.

"Do you mind if I-?" the younger McAllister gestured to a table and his pack.

"Sorry," she said, clearing a table. "Let me just move this for you."

Tyler put what he was carrying on the table then looked at the scientist.

"Dr. Jennings," she supplied.

"It's good to meet you," Tyler told her, shaking her hand.

'This is Alex Kim," she gestured to the Asian man behind them. "Our cameraman."

"Yeah," Tyler said. "I've seen your work," he told the Asian.

"Heard a lot about you too," Alex replied, smiling. "Good to meet you."

Dr. Jennings looked at what Tyler had on the table, calling his attention back to her.

"So it's unusual for a rebreather," she commented. "Who modified it?"

"That would be my brother Jack and his wife Mickey."

"Really?" she asked surprised.

"Yep," Tyler nodded. "I did all the reprogramming, though. With some help from Mickey," he added, trying to impress her.

He pulled a container out of the tube on the back holding it up.

"And why the canister?" the doctor asked.

"We're using lithium hydroxide to filter out the CO2," Tyler told her. "It's a little dangerous, but it's much more effective than calcium."

"Hope you get a redundancy for this Meg," Alex told him looking everything over.

"There's actually a triple redundancy," Tyler informed him. "It's the backup, a primary and a HUD."

"So you can stay submerged for what, 18, 20 hours?" Dr. Jennings asked.

"24," Tyler told her with a smile.

"Kate. Alex," Nicolai's voice came from behind them. They all turned seeing the doctor leading Jack and Mickey in. "This is Jack and Mickey McAllister."

"Dr. Jennings." The scientist held her hand out for Mickey then Jack.

"We read about some of your Yucatan expeditions," Kate told the couple. "Pretty amazing."

"Thank you," Jack and Mickey said at the same time.

"And I understand you have a great interest in cave biology, Mrs. McAllister." Dr. Jennings said.

"Yes, I technically am a Biospeleologist, and its just Mickey, please," Mickey told her with a smile.

"Kathryn," the woman told her. "You have a degree in cave biology?"

Tyler laughed behind them. "Mickey is our resident genius," he told Kathryn.

"Perhaps you would like to see some samples we took?" Kathryn asked Mickey, slightly ignoring Tyler.

"Yeah, sure," Mickey replied following the biologist. Jack followed tapping Tyler on the shoulder.

"Hey, bro," he paused beside him. "Double-check all the rebreathers."

"Yeah," Tyler nodded. "1 in 14."

Jack nodded before walking out of the tent.

"1 in 14?" Kathryn asked Mickey.

"It's the number of cave divers that die each year," Mickey told her as they continued walking.

Tyler watched Kathryn walk away before looking down into a specimen bag that held a really old shoe.

"What's this?" he asked Alex, who was taking a picture.

"It's all that's left of some poor guy they found in the mouth of the cave."

A sense of foreboding settled around the younger McAllister's shoulder before he shook it off.

That night, they all crowed into the main tent to go over the plan for the cave.

They were all sitting at a table waiting for everyone else to get there.

"So how did you hook up with these guys?" Kathryn asked Charlie.

"My dad had a dive business in north Florida," Charlie told her as Mickey sat down across from them. "And when Jack got out of high school he kind of took him under his wing. Mickey was already one of the youngest professional divers due to her ability to graduate high school when she was 11."

Charlie shot the married woman a look.

"What?" Mickey asked. "it's not my fault I excelled in school."

"So, Tyler was saying you were a genius," Kathryn started. "was he referring to your early graduation?"

Mickey took a sip of the water she was holding. "No, I have an IQ of 252, and can read almost 30 000 words per minute. That combined with an eidetic memory can have a huge impact on my brain."

Kathryn's eyes went wide in shock.

"If you think that's crazy," Charlie continued. "She managed to become one of the youngest divers ever at 15. After beating that she became the best rock climber too."

Mickey smiled and shook her head at Charlie. "She always gets a little frosty around that part," She whispered to Kathryn. "Charlie is only a few minutes behind me in time, that makes her second best, but I never really cared."

Kathryn smiled as Charlie threw a ball of paper at the older woman.

"So how did you and Jack meet?" the doctor asked.

Charlie laughed into her drink thinking about _that_ day.

Mickey rolled her eyes at her.

"I came on as a guest when Charlie's dad took the students out on practice dives. Charlie was only, what, 12?" Mickey asked. The blonde nodded as she took a sip of her beer. "I was 20, and already professionally dived a dozen times. Well Jack was slightly off on one of his routines and I politely corrected him. This led to his ego being bruised and challenging me to a dive. I won, and well, with his great McAllister pride he decided to hate me. It was about 2 years later that we finally settled our differences."

Mickey paused, taking a drink before continuing.

"My dive partner got into an accident and broke her leg, so Charlie's dad, Frank, said he would send me another diver, but didn't say who. So when the 'copter landed, out comes the great Jack McAllister. We butted heads for a while before finally managing to work together. The rest is history," Mickey winked at Kathryn who smiled before turning back to Charlie.

"So what about the rest of you?"

"Well, we're all kind of like family, no matter where we came from." Charlie replied.

Kathryn was silent for a second before shyly looking back at the blonde.

"And Tyler?"

Charlie smiled wondering when she was going to question about him. "He joined the business out of college, by then Mickey and Jack were already attached at the hip, though Tyler didn't know that 'Mickey' was the great Mickeala Astly."

"Surprised wouldn't cover the reaction he had to meeting me," Mickey giggle from across the table.

"Briggs," Charlie continued. "We found table-dancing in a club outside Calgary." The blonde started laughing as Kathryn began to snigger.

"Everybody, listen up," Top called over all the chatter. "Here we go."

Jack put his beer down, telling Strode to start up the imaging they got of the cave.

"I've been analyzing these readouts," Jack began. "And here's what we got." He started outlining the points with his hands. "There's an enormous cavern about 300 feet down just below the cave entrance. Dr. Nicolai's already named it Titan Hall."

"Oh, yeah," Nicolai said. "It's huge, believe me."

"There's a sump- Strode?" Jack said, asking Strode to rotate the image. "-right about here, which then leads to an underground passageway. We need to find a dry cavern somewhere in the system where we can set up advance base camp, and Dr's Jennings and Nicolai can gather their samples."

Jack paused as both doctors nodded.

"Now, we'll be under for 12 days. We're gonna go deep on this one."

"Yeah!" Charlie cheered as everyone else vocalized their agreement.

"Top? Anything you want to add?"

The black man nodded. "Yeah. Everybody just remember now, this cave is a very serious piece of work. It's already taken at least one life. Respect the cave."

Everyone sobered slightly and nodded.

"Briggs," Jack took over. "You're gonna take first scout."

Tyler shot an incredulous look at his brother, angry that Briggs took his spot.

"Right on," the man said.

"Any questions?" Jack asked. Nobody opened their mouths. "All right, listen. A toast."

Everyone raised their cups or bottles.

"To virgin caves." Jack said.

"To virgins everywhere," the team said under everyone else as they toasted the cave.


	3. Chapter 3

As everyone was enjoying a relaxing last evening out in the fresh air, Jack crouched by the opening of the cave, thinking about the next day. He was so lost in thought that he didn't hear Mickey walk up behind him, until she put a hand on his shoulder.

They stood in silence for a while until the night became completely black.

"Come on, Jack," Mickey gently tugged on his jacket. "She'll still be here tomorrow."

Jack nodded with a small grin and stood up turning to walk with her back to where the sleeping tent was.

After walking around a few bedrolls with people sprawled out on them, they made it to two in the back. After pushing both of them together they curled up around each other, drifting off to sleep.

Tyler, Kathryn and Nicolai came in after showing Tyler the mural they found in the cave. Tyler smirked seeing his brother and sister-in-law curled up together.

"At least one things stays constant," Tyler mused.

"What's that?" Nicolai asked. Tyler pointed to Jack and Mickey.

"No matter what expedition we're on, you could always count on that."

Kathryn and Nicolai smiled before sliding into their beds.

The next morning the team was handing their gear down through the mouth of the cave so it would all be together for their climb down into Titan Hall.

Briggs, Charlie, Tyler and Mickey were looking over the edge of the hall at the unsafe looking ladder.

"The ladder is quite safe," Nicolai told them.

"Yeah I hate ladders," Charlie said as she helped Briggs hook Mickey up. It was the plan they followed every time. If it was a dry cave, Mickey or Jack went first, if it was wet, a first scout would.

Mickey hummed her agreement, getting the go ahead from Briggs. She swung out into the passageway, becoming suspended in mid air before lowering herself down.

"Next thing you know, they're putting in elevators." She quickly disappeared from view.

Tyler turned to look at Nicolai.

"She's such a show-off," he said before following after her in the same procession.

"It's the only way to go, doc," Briggs told him with a grin on his face.

Mickey stopped herself, with Tyler not far behind, and looked out over the hall from a high vantage point.

"It's awesome," Charlie whispered from behind them.

As they all got situated in the hall, Top started doing the mandatory pre-dive checklist with Briggs, who was in the water, ready to go on a first scout.

"Now, you find it, you name it," Top was saying as Mickey came over to check on the computers with Strode. "Make it good."

"First scout's privilege, Top," Briggs told him with a shit eating grin on his face. "I got a few ideas. You know I'll come up with something."

"Okay. Synchronize watched to 0811 on my mark," Top told Briggs. "Three, two, one…mark."

"All okay?" Tyler asked envious that he wasn't first scout.

"I don't think it could get any better, Ty," Briggs said smugly.

"Yeah, I bet." Tyler sardonically.

"All right," Jack said, stepping into the water with Briggs' helmet. "Here we go. This is a long passage, so I want you to pace yourself."

Briggs nodded, understanding what his team leader was trying to say.

"Turnaround's one-third, okay?"

"I find a dry cavern, I'll give you a call, Jack."

"You do that, would you?" Jack said smiling. "Go and get it." He pushed more of Briggs' gear into the water and the scout headed out.

Jack walked over to shore where Mickey handed him another pair of dry pants before grabbing a mic.

"How's it looking down there, Briggs?" Mickey asked through the communication device.

"_It's dark, it's deep and it's wet, Mick,"_ Briggs relayed. Mickey smirked slightly at the reply and handed the mic to Jack when he came back.

"Give us your current depth."

"_Depth at 162,"_ Briggs answered.

"And what's your gas reading?" Jack asked the mandatory questions.

"_O__2__'s reading 1800."_

"How you feeling down there Briggs?" Top asked as the team crowded around the monitors.

"_I'm feeling pretty good, Top,"_ Briggs replied. _"How you feeling up there?"_

"I'm alright," Top told him with a chuckle. "How about the warning lights? How they look?"

"_Nothing yet,"_ Briggs' voice came over the line. _"There's a curve in the tunnel up ahead, though. Probably gonna lose you on the dark side of the moon. Tell Tyler I'll call him from first base camp after I set up that fiber optic."_

Tyler nodded angrily and stalked away from the computers.

"You know Briggs," Mickey said as she watched Tyler walk away. "I'd warn you not to be so arrogant but then you'd have no personality at all."

"_Come on Mick. Take away the arrogance, there's nothing left."_

The connection then went dark.

"There he goes," Charlie said looking at the readings.

"That's it," Strode checked to be sure.

"Thanks Strode," Jack said. He lightly squeezed Mickey's shoulder before walking after Tyler.

A few hours later, the team was standing around the computers, waiting for Briggs to show up.

"Hey, Ty!" Jack called over to his brother who was chatting with Kathryn.

"I checked the line three times," Strode told Mickey. "There's nothing wrong. System's fine, we just don't have a signal yet."

"Keep checking every five minutes till we get something," Top told him, slightly worried for his friend.

"What's up?" Tyler asked as he made his way over to stand by Jack.

"If Briggs doesn't show in 10, I'm sending you," His brother told him without looking up from the screens.

"Come one," Tyler whined. "It's Briggs. He's probably showing off."

"Listen," Mickey said turning around and walking into her serious persona. "You're probably right, but go get ready anyways, okay?"

Tyler nodded, knowing not to piss of Mickey when she was being serious, and started heading to his gear.

It was a few minutes later when Briggs' face appeared on one of the monitors.

"Jack!" Strode called. "Guys. I got him."

"_Wakey-wakey, Titan Hall,"_ Briggs said over the line in a chipper voice.

Everyone crowed around the cameras, excited to hear from the first scout.

"_Is anybody there?"_ Briggs asked.

"Morning Briggs," Mickey said. "We're all here. Where are you?"

"_Good morning to you too, Mick,"_ Briggs smiled on the screen. _"I'd say I'm sitting at advance base camp. Which will now be forever known as Kublai Khan."_

Everyone smiled at his new name as Jack leaned forward to speak into the mic.

"About how far in would you say, Briggs?"

"_Only about 2.4 miles, Jack."_

"Two-point-four," Mickey breathed, tilting her head back to look Jack in the eyes. She had a giddy smile on her face, one that Jack matched.

"_I'm uploading the data now,"_ Briggs informed them. _"Read it and weep."_

The information of the tunnel came on one of the screens, as well as the distance checkpoints.

"_It's amazing in here, man," _Briggs began to pan the screen around the cave, illuminating it with his flashlight. _"I haven't seen a hole like this in a long time."_

Suddenly he cursed and the camera spun.

"Briggs?" Top asked, worried.

"_Yeah, yeah, yeah,"_ the man said over the line. _"Hold on a sec. something just ran past me."_

A scramble was heard over the line then suddenly Briggs called out in triumph coming back on screen.

"_Kathryn," _Briggs began, holding up a mole like creature. _"can you and Nicolai see this?"_

Both doctors leaned forward as the scout held the creature closer to the screen.

"_It's some kind of a large rat or a mole or something. Buckteeth, webbed feet. Looks a lot like Tyler."_

Tyler shook his head at the man's antics. They heard a squeal and a scramble again before Briggs reappeared on screen.

"_I think I pissed him off with that Tyler comment."_

The team smiled and chuckled.

"Hey listen, man," Jack said. "Good work. Get some sleep now all right?"

"_Yeah. Yeah," _Briggs agreed. _"Some sleep."_

"You need anything down there, man?" Strode asked before they lost the connection.

"_Hold on a sec,"_ Briggs told them as they heard a clicking coming over the line. The image began to flicker as Briggs' face became confused as he looked around the are he was in.

"Briggs?" Top asked. The screen began to cut out as Briggs started talking again.

"Briggs?" Top asked again.

"What's up Strode?" Jack asked the Aussie.

"Could be the feedback," Strode suggested just as Briggs came in clear.

"_What the hell was that? Goddamn it."_

"Briggs," Mickey started. "Key me if you can hear me."

Nothing but static came over the line and the image just became a grey mass. She reached over, hitting a few buttons but nothing came up.


	4. Chapter 4

"Fiber optic must have snapped, huh?" Tyler asked his sister-in-law.

"Maybe we should wend in a second scout just to be safe," Top suggested.

"No. Come one," Tyler protested. "We gotta get in the water."

The team looked at Jack as Mickey stared into the fuzzy screen.

"Mick and I are in the water in 30 minutes," Jack finally decided after a couple seconds of deliberation.

Mickey nodded in agreement. "Strode, Tyler. Fix the cable on the way in," Mickey told them, getting up to get her wetsuit. "Let's do this."

Her and Jack walked over to one side of Titan Hall to grab their gear.

"I'll stay back by Ty," Mickey said after she took off her shirt, standing in nothing but a bikini top and joggers. "And I'll help Strode fix the cable."

Jack glanced at her as he zipped up his wetsuit. "You sure?"

Mick changed into a pair of skintight shorts and slid her suit up her legs.

"When am I ever unsure, Jack?" she asked, sliding the sleeves onto her arms.

Jack shook his head before reaching out and zipping up her suit.

"Be careful," he told her in a serious tone.

"I'll be as careful as I can in this profession," Mick promised before walking over to the water.

Everyone got their suits on as quick as possible and within a half hour, they were on their way.

"All right," Mickey said after a few minutes of being in the water. "Let's take it a little slow. The break in the line could be anywhere."

"Right on your tail, Mick," Strode said from behind her as he and Tyler followed. They were a little ways behind everyone else, due to the fact that they were looking for breaks in the line. They were only about 200 yards away from the advanced base camp when Strode heard a squeal.

"What the hell was that?" he spun around, looking behind him. "Mick, Hang on." He said, his eyes following its direction.

Mickey nodded, and managed to find the break in the line near where they were.

"Strode," Tyler said, coming around a bend. "How you doing man?"

"I think I saw one of those moles," Strode told him. "I'm gonna go take a look."

"All right," Tyler nodded. "Me and Mick are going try to fix the cable."

Strode nodded, before taking off after the mole.

"Tyler," Mickey called through the comms. "I found the break right here. It's gonna take me a few minutes to fix."

"All right," Tyler said, shining his light on the cable, revealing that it looked bitten through.

"This looks chewed," Mickey said sharing a look with Tyler. Just then they heard screaming coming through the line and recognized Strode's accent.

"Strodey!" Mickey screamed, ready to head his way before an explosion made her and Tyler fly back into opening where the rest of the team was.. So lost in her worry for Strode, Mick didn't even notice when something cut her leg.

"Get her out of there Top," she heard Jack say through the ringing in her ears as someone helped her to shore.

"Hey," Jack said, crouching in front of her and grabbing her face. "What happened? Where's Strode?"

Mickey took a deep breath as Tyler dragged himself beside her. "I don't know," she whispered, Strode's screams still ringing in her head.

Jack cursed, looking back at the water before walking deeper into the pool.

"He kept saying 'help'," Tyler said. "I think he was being attacked."

"We began to head back for him," Mick said, taking over. "But I don't know what the hell exploded."

Top and Jack quickly dived back into the water as Tyler and Mick threw off their heavy gear. The two men appeared a few minutes later with solemn faces. Mickey went to stand but hissed as she noticed the cut on her leg. Jack took one look at the red line before turning to Nicolai.

"Can you patch her up?" he asked. The doctor nodded and gestured for Mickey to follow him.

After everyone was cleaned up and into a change of clothes, they sat in a circle around Jack, preparing themselves for the news that was about to come.

"All right, listen up." Jack began. "We have a few realities to face here people. The first is that we're not going out the same way we came. The passage is completely blocked."

Everyone looked around at each other, worried.

"The second," Jack continued. "Is that we're not even gonna be missed for 12 days. Which is right about when our supplies run out. So, we're gonna have to find our own way out."

"Now, hold on a second Jack," Briggs interrupted. "You still haven't told us what happed to Strode. Tyler said it sounded like he was being attacked. He was Special Forces for Chris sake, Jack. He new what the hell he was doing. Now something got him down there. And I'll bet it's the same damn thing that got whoever owns those boots." He said referring to the old boots he found deeper into the cave.

"We're all hurting, man." Jack said, noticing that Mickey flinched every time Strode was mentioned. "Strode was a friend to all of us. Don't you forget that."

Mickey stood up, walking further away from the group and stood looking out into the water.

Jack watched her go for a second before turning to Nicolai.

"What do you think Dr? Is there anything that could have attacked Strode?"

"I don't know," the doctor said, looking up at Jack. "The mole is the largest animal we've seen in this type of system."

"Our friend her does prove that there's an abundant food supply," Kathryn said, taking over. "Question is, is he at the top of the food chain, or is there something else?"

"Look," Tyler began looking over the worried people. "Strode could've just screwed up his mix. Narcosis, hallucinations. It happens. I mean, he panics, he ruptures his scooter."

"Whatever it was," Top said. "it doesn't matter now. Because right now, out primary concern is getting out of here alive."

"Jack," Nicolai began looking up at the team leader. "This is the Carpathians. We can spend an eternity trying to find a way out if there even is one. Come one, Jack. We wait. A rescue team will come for us."

"Dr. Nicolai," Jack said, interrupting the man. "We're a mile below the surface and three miles in. The best people to get us out are all right here." He made a circle with his finger, indicating to his team. "We are the rescue team. Now here's how it's gonna go, Top and I, we're gonna start scouting for an exit immediately. Now, I'd recommend that you all get some rest. You're gonna need it." Jack looked each if them in the eye before looking over to Mickey's figure. "Top, be ready in ten, all right?"

The black man nodded heading off towards his gear as Jack walked towards Mickey. As soon as he neared her, she collapsed into his arms, her body shaking.

"Shh," he whispered comforting her.

"I could hear him yelling," she told him. "And when I tried to get him the tunnel collapsed."

Jack tilted her head up so he could look her in the eyes then pressed a quick kiss to her lips.

"What's the plan?" she asked after he pulled away.

"Me and Top are going to scout for an exit," Jack told her. Mickey was silent for a moment before she nodded.

"Find another way out," she agreed before looking down into the water again.

Top walked over with some of his gear.

"Ready?" Jack asked the survival specialist. The black man nodded and they both headed to an opening in the rock face and disappeared.

Charlie walked over to Mickey and tugged her to sit down. They sat, staring into the clear water so they could rest until Top and Jack came back.


	5. Chapter 5

They sat in silence for a while and Charlie was about to asked the older woman something but Top's yelling sounded through the cavern and he appeared, holding an injured Jack up.

"Get the medical kit!"

Mickey was immediately on her feet and heading to the kit.

"I got it Top!" she yelled running back over. "Set him down."

"What happened?" Tyler asked as Top set his brother down on the stone ground. Mickey quickly got behind him, locating where the blood was coming from.

"Tyler," Mickey said, pulling open the back of Jack's wetsuit. "Get me some alcohol swabs from my bag so I can clean it!"

"What happened Top?" Tyler asked, handing Mick the swabs. She warned Jack about he pain before beginning to clean it.

"Found that hooked in his sling," the black man told the younger McAllister nodding towards a claw on the ground.

"What the hell is that?" Briggs asked, noticing it as well.

""I cut it off," Jack hissed out as Mickey applied more alcohol to his wound.

"Did you get a look at it?" Tyler asked as Kathryn came over to look at the specimen.

"No," Jack breathed out seeing Mickey's arm reaching around him to grab a needle and thread from the med kit. "It jumped me too fast."

"Hold still," Mick told him when she finished threading the needle. Jack nodded and she started sewing the cut closed.

"Jesus, how big was it?" Kathryn asked, finally getting a good look.

"It's big," Jack told her looking over his shoulder. He noticed Mickey had a worried expression on her face.

"How's it looking, babe?" he asked her.

"Ripped you up pretty good, but I can stitch it up and put a patch over it. It shouldn't get infected." She told him, concentrating on her work. "You're going to need an antibiotic. Top hand me that syringe when I'm done this."

Top nodded, holding the needle in his hand. In no time she had the stitches tied off and injected the needle into her husbands back.

"Top hand me a shirt for him, and Tyler," the younger brother looked over. "hand me the large bandage in the kit."

Top came back and handed Mickey a shirt just after she finished putting the bandage. She used Jack's knife to cut his dirty top off so he didn't have to irritate his wound then put the clean one on.

The rest of the team crowded around the two doctors as they examined the claw but Mickey just wrapped her arms around Jack's waist and pressed a kiss to his injury before resting her chin on his shoulder.

"There's a resemblance to amphibian tissue," they both hear Kathryn say from behind them. "But these hair follicles would seem to rule that out. The only thing I do know; this is definitely a predator."

"Great," Briggs' voiced echoed slightly. "So now we're apart of the food chain."

"We always have been," Kathryn shot at him. "We've just forgotten that, living in cities."

Suddenly the claw moved causing the people around it to jump in fright. Mickey got up, pulling Jack with her and they stood in the background, watching the biologists work.

"Just reflexes," Nicolai assured them. "Don't worry."

"So what is it?" Tyler asked, coming to stand beside Kathryn.

"Well, without DNA testing, it's impossible to tell," Kathryn told him.

"This may be something we've never seen before," Nicolai informed the group. Kathryn leaned own to examine the appendage further, curious about it's origins.

"Every cave organism we've discovered so far originated on the surface," the female doctor told the group. "Over time they've adapted. Lost pigmentation and sight and developed a heightened sense of hearing and smell." She paused silently thinking before taking a deep breath.

"If this is a totally self-contained ecosystem-"

"Yes," Nicolai interjected. "we may have discovered the primeval creature that has evolved in total isolation."

"Well," Alex commented. "It looks like a piece from those things on the mosaic." The Asian man referred to the pieces they found at the entrance to the cave.

"Look," Kathryn suddenly said, gesturing for Nicolai to look at the specimen.

"What?"

"There," she pointed at the severed part of the limb.

"It's still alive," Charlie exclaimed looking at the moving tissue. The two biologists didn't acknowledge her, and spoke in hushed tones about the parasite they discovered in the mole. Kathryn whispered something and grabbed an evidence bag to stick the claw into.

"All right," Jack said from behind them, having changed into his secondary wetsuit. Mickey stood beside him, pulling a pair of gloves on. "Let's pack it up."

They all turned around to look at him.

"It's time to go."

Jack gave each person one last look before he and Mickey turned back towards their gear, getting ready to head out.

Jack glanced over at Mick and noticed that she was shaking and had a slight sheen of perspiration on her forehead.

"Are you alright?" he asked, concerned.

Mickey glance over at him, not even noticing her symptoms. "I'm fine Jack." She insisted and picked up her pack, ready to head out.

"Okay people," Top called out. "Take only what you need, but keep your dive gear."

Jack and Mickey were standing together quietly when suddenly her head shot up and she glanced at the ceiling.

"We need to get out of here jack," she whispered, sensing that something was watching them, but couldn't understand how she knew.

Jack glanced at her, wondering what she was looking for, but didn't question her. He had learned long ago that Mickey's instincts were sharp, and if you didn't listen to them, something bad might happen.

The couple led the team through a narrow passage in the stone, following Top and Jack's footstep s from earlier. Mickey glanced behind just as a faint trill sounded. No one else turned, so she figured that she was hearing things.

Mick quickly turned around, always staying one step behind her husband.

"Hey," Charlie said after a bit of walking. "Maybe there's a way to climb out."

"Yeah, better up than down," Briggs agreed. As they continued walking.

As Tyler and Charlie came around a bend in the tunnel, they saw Nicolai examining a bone on the ground.

"looks like we found the owner of those boots," Top commented as Nicolai shined his flashlight along the edge.

"Teeth marks," he said, looking at each person in the area.

"Let's go," Jack said, after everyone averted their eyes. He shined his light down the tunnel and continued walking, Mickey not far behind.

Soon enough they came to a small crevice that Jack crawled through earlier and had to push their things through in front of their bodies.

As soon as Mickey and Jack made it out of the hole, they noticed a forked path. Jack gestured to the one on the right and they put their gear down, scouting the tunnel.

As soon as they entered, Mickey felt a shift inside her body, making her senses sharper, allowing her to know what was ahead, even if she couldn't see.

"This isn't the dominant artery," she told Jack. "But it's the least traveled on."

Jack understood her small warning about what was following them and they headed back to the fork.

They heard Briggs' raised voice as they made it back to the entrance where the team was.

"What the hell's going on?" he asked Briggs and Top. It was then that Mickey noticed the sweat lining his brow. _Was this what he was talking about?_ She thought to herself, thinking back to when he pointed out the same thing on her. She didn't dwell on it too much since a sharp pained pounded in her head and she gripped her temples. In her head she began to see a creature reflected on water. Just as it came, the pain left and she was grateful that she stayed in the shadows so the team didn't see her in pain.

She looked up to see Jack staring Briggs down, missing their conversation.

Jack turned back around and walking back to where Mickey was still waiting. She was barely visible though he could see the faint traces of pain in her eyes.

They continued walking through the rock, carrying their gear.

They came to a straight up rock face and Mickey got out her climbing gear. She climbed up part way, slower than normal due to the cut on her leg. She stopped at intervals, hooking the line to the rock.

"On belay," she called down to Jack. "You're safe to climb."

"You gonna let me change that bandage when we get to the top?" Top asked Jack as they hung on to the wall. \Mickey glanced down at her husband, concerned about the wound getting infected.

"I'm all right," she heard Jack say.

"It could be getting infected," Top told him, concerned. "You sure?"

Mickey looked down again, taking note of Jack's tone.

"How many expeditions have we been on together, Top?"

"Too many," the black man replied.

Jack shot him a look before looking down at everyone who were still on flat ground.

"We need a break," Kathryn's voice echoed.

"Not with that thing out there," Alex told her, to worried to stop.

"You gotta let them rest, Jack." Top told his friend.

Jack nodded, agreeing. "Once we hit the water."

"Water?" Top asked, confused. "I don't hear any water Jack."

"Yeah," Jack nodded, watching Mickey climb. "I smell it."

Mickey looked at him sharply as she heard his reply. Taking a deep breath, she too realised that there was water close by. _What's happening to us Jack? _She wondered, before starting to climb again.

After they made it over the wall, a tunnel stretched forward, leading the team to a small pool.

Mickey kneeled beside Jack as he dug around in his pack, pulling out a flare. He lit it an dropped it in the water, watching the light drop to the bottom. Out of the corner of her eye, Mickey noticed Alex getting closer with his camera, but was too late to warn him before Jack exploded.

"Get that camera out of my face!" Jack smacked the device into the pool as he stood up, getting into Alex's face. He shoved the Asian, causing him to fall flat on his back. Mickey was up and in front of her volatile husband, putting her hands on his chest.

"That camera was paying for this expedition," Alex told him snidely.

"Alex," Jack said, coming to his senses and walked around Mickey to offer his hand. "I'm sorry."

Alex gripped his hand and pulled himself up.

"Sorry," Jack said again, looking him in the eyes.

Alex nodded before walking away. Mickey glanced down, watching the camera move slightly underwater.

"There's a current," she told them, watching the water. Jack looked over at Top.

"Grab some food. You two keep an eye out." The man said, speaking to Top and Tyler.

"We'll rest for 20." Mickey said, following Jack as he walked away from the group.

Her husband sat down on a boulder that was sticking out of the ground. She came around to kneel in front of him, resting her hands on his thighs.

Suddenly he leaned forward, gripping his head. Mickey, knowing what was happening because of what happened to her, moved to kneel between his legs and began to lightly massage his temples. He squeezed her waist tightly and moved to press his head into her shoulder.

A few seconds later, he took a deep breath, leaning back to look Mick in the eyes. He opened his mouth to say something, but tilted his head to where Top and Tyler were talking.

He furrowed his brow, confused at how he could hear them before realising that Mickey wasn't even phased by what he went through. It was like she was expecting it.

"When?" he whispered.


	6. Chapter 6

"Back when Strode-" she took a breath. "I thought it was a rock, but now it seems to have been something else."

Jack nodded and they both listened in on Tyler and Top.

"_What should we do?"_ Top was asking Tyler.

"_Not sure we can do anything,"_ was Tyler's reply. _"Maybe I should talk to him."_

"_I've never seen Jack like this before,"_ Briggs voice came to them from a different part of the cavern. _"He's completely losing it. Mick's been acting strange too."_

"_We're five miles in,"_ Alex's voice sounded.

"_We're not going back."_ Charlie told them.

"_That's for sure,"_ Alex told her.

"_Jack and Mickey are the most experienced ones,"_ Charlie defended her friends. _"If anyone can get us out, it's them."_

Jack turned his attention back to his wife, not wanting to listen to the team's conversations anymore.

Mickey leaned forward resting her forehead against his. They both closed their eyes understanding what was happening to them. Mickey moved to sit beside Jack as she heard Tyler approach. The younger McAllister crouched down beside them both, not acknowledging the pairs of eyes watching him

"How you doing?" Tyler asked both of them.

They both looked over as Tyler shined his light on them, noting how abnormally pale they both looked.

"Jack, Mick…" the younger man paused under their gaze. "I'm worried about you two."

"Briggs is gonna be a problem," Jack told him, avoiding his brothers previous question. "You know that, don't you?"

Tyler looked across the cave to the rest of the team before looking back at his older sibling.

"We can't save them Tyler," he confessed. "Not if they don't trust our judgement."

Mickey looked around jack shoulder to stare at Tyler, unnerving him.

"We're gonna need your help with that," she supplied. "You understand?"

Tyler nodded. "Okay."

Jack nodded and watched Tyler get up and walk away.

"All right," Tyler called. "Let's get in the water."

Mickey rubbed Jack's back as he began to shake slightly. It only lasted a few seconds before he was pulling her up with him and heading back towards their gear.

They were soon in the water and following the current.

"Let's not get too spread out," Jack told the group over the comms. "Everybody should be in the water by now."

"_I'm in now,"_ Briggs' voice came over the line. _"Top and Tyler are right behind me."_

They stayed close together as swam through and underwater tunnel.

"The current's pushing us up," Mickey realised as they went further.

"It looks lie it's pretty choppy up there," Top said, looking at the water that led to the surface of another cavern.

Jack and Mickey surfaced at the same time, and waited for the rest. Soon enough, they were all strapping their gear into a tight bundle, glancing at the current that flowed into a small river.

"All right, listen up," Jack yelled out over the sound of rushing water. "Secure all your gear." He patted his bundle for emphasis.

"Jack!" Kathryn called out. "We don't know where the rapids go."

'What do you wanna do?" Top asked sarcastically. "Go back?"

"She's right Jack," Briggs added his two cents. "We should find another way."

"This is the goddamn way!" Jack yelled at him angrily. Everyone became silent, looking at him

"I'll go first," Top said, breaking the mounting tension.

"Yeah, get going." Jack said and watched as Top floated away.

"All right, Dr. Nicolai," Mickey called from beside Jack. "Your going with Jack, Tyler, you take Kathryn and I'm bringing up the rear."

"Briggs, Charlie," Jack took over. "You go now!" Briggs nodded, and together, he and Charlie swam into the current.

After telling Nicolai to put his goggles on, Jack pushed them into the current and disappeared.

"Your brothers got a serious death wish," Alex told Tyler.

"Hey, listen to me." Tyler yelled. "You have to trust him, okay? We will get out."

Alex rolled his eyes before pushing off down the rapids.

Tyler grabbed Kathryn and glanced at Mickey, who nodded, telling him to go. They were just about to be sucked into the current when Mickey cried out in pain and got dragged under the water. Tyler glanced back to see blood pooling in the area she had been standing. He tried to push get to her but the water was too strong.

"Mickey!" he yelled just before him and Kathryn got sucked away.

Under the water, seconds before, Mickey had managed to grip Jack's knife she still had on and jammed it into the creature. She felt around and realized that her thigh was in the monsters jaw. After a few jabs with the blade, it let go and she pushed her way to the surface, just in time to hear Tyler call her name.

Quickly grabbing her gear with one hand, she kicked her legs as fast as possible, surging into the current, trying to escape the creature.

She was tossed around a couple of bends and faintly heard Nicolai call out but was going to fast to stop. Her body kept on getting tossed around, irritating her bleeding leg and suddenly she felt the rock give way beneath her, sending her down a waterfall.

She landed on her back and quickly swam to the surface. Looking around she noticed Tyler and Kathryn a little ways away. Trying not to move her leg too much she pushed through the water to get to them. Seeing her, Tyler let out a sigh of relief.

"Mickey!" he hugged her, glad to know she was alive. "What happened?"

"Something had me," she breathed out, still trying to catch her breath. "Sank its teeth into my leg."

Tyler gently ran his hand down her leg to the tear in her suit and a couple of holes in her skin. His fingers brushed against the jagged flesh and caused Mickey to hiss in pain. Kathryn moved to help Tyler keep Mick afloat and together they moved further away from the waterfall.

Suddenly Charlie popped out of the water behind them.

"There's something in the water," she cried out. Tyler quickly put on his goggles and dove under to look. Mickey treaded water with one arm to help Kathryn hold her body up but could feel herself start to loose consciousness. Tyler appeared above the water a few seconds later.

"Oh shit!" he exclaimed. "It's some kind of eel." He waved his light around, and then noticed that Mickey was almost unconscious. He grabbed her from Kathryn, exerting extra energy to keep her afloat. Charlie was about to question what was wrong with Mickey when they heard Jack over the comms.

"_Does anybody have eyes on Dr. Nicolai or Charlie?"_

"Yeah," Tyler replied immediately. "I got Charlie, Kathryn and Mickey. Nicolai's wracked up on the rocks above the falls. He's in bad shape. And uh, Jack, Mickey's hurt bad."

There was silence on the line for a few seconds before Jack spoke. His voice was taut with worry.

"_Top's lighting a flare, get here a soon as you can."_

"I see them," Charlie said, seeing the light in the distance.

"Yeah. Looks like a couple hundred yards," Tyler estimated. "Charlie, come grab Mick's legs so her body doesn't weigh me down."

Charlie came around and grabbed Mickey's legs, helping Tyler keep her above water as they swam towards the others.

As soon as they were close enough Jack moved to be directly in front of his wife, tapping her cheek.

"Come one, honey," he whispered. "Wake up."

After getting no response he looked at Tyler.

"What happened?"

"Me and Kathryn were just being swept into the current when she screamed out. Something got her thigh in its mouth and dragged her under."

Jack felt around her leg, feeling the wounds and ripped fabric. He backed up, letting Tyler hold her for now and looked around the group.

"Stick close together," he told them, worried that the creature followed them down.

They looked towards the falls as Nicolai's scream echoed through the cavern

"That's Dr. Nicolai," Jack said as the flare was going out. "Top light another one. I'm gonna go after him."

The black man complied, holding it up as Jack swam away.

After a few seconds, Nicolai's pained screams sounded, and Jack moved faster than humanly possible through the water.

"Nicolai!" Kathryn screamed, trying to follow Jack.

"Everybody stay put," Top called out, taking the leader roll seeing that Mickey was out.

"We have to help him," Kathryn cried, listening to his calls.

"Everybody in a circle," Top yelled out over the woman's cries.

"We can't just stay here we have to help him! Nicolai!"

Soon Nicolai's screams faded and everyone became silent.

"We can't just sit here," Briggs began. "There has to be a shore close."

"Nobody's going anywhere until Jack gets back," Top told him, holding up another flare.

"Tyler," Charlie whispered, catching everyone's attention. "Is Mickey gonna be okay?"

Tyler looked at his sister-in-law's pale face before looking at everyone else, who also wanted to know the answer.

"I don't know Charlie," he told her. "Something bit into her above the falls and could have severed an artery in her thigh."

Charlie covered her mouth as tears began to build in her eyes.

Everyone else looked away, not wanting to think about Mickey dieing.

Just as Top was lighting another flare, Jack reappeared beside the group.

"It's over," he said, moving to take Mickey from his brother. "Let's get the hell out of the water."

"He said he didn't want to go deeper, Jack." Kathryn cried. "He was you responsibility."

Jack paused, Mickey still in his arms and looked at the distraught woman.

"He said he didn't want to go deeper." She continued, crying softly.

"It's over Kathryn," Jack said flatly, feeling guilty enough for what happened to Mickey. He began to swim backwards slowly, keeping Mick's head above the water. Soon enough they came to an underwater ledge that was wide enough to walk one. Jack moved along, handing Mickey back over to Tyler and led the way along the wall.


	7. Chapter 7

Around them they could hear a clicking noise that echoed off the walls.

"What the hell is that?" Tyler wondered.

"Echolocation," Kathryn breathed looking up at the ceiling of the cavern. "This thing can see us as easy as a bat sees a moth in complete darkness."

Tyler looked at her before continuing to carry Mickey along right behind Jack.

Soon enough he cam to a piece of land that was out of the water. Tyler quickly laid Mickey down as Jack began to look over her.

After cutting away the right leg of her suit, thanking that she was still wearing shorts, he let Top look at the wound.

"Good news is," Top began after a few minutes. "It isn't deep enough to hit any arteries. And she passed out due to exhaustion."

"The bad news?" Jack asked, worried.

"It looks like it only wanted to scratch her, whatever that implies. Tyler, hand me the last antibiotic needle from the my pack."

Tyler dug around and tossed the syringe at Top. The man quickly jabbed it into Mickey's leg and sat back, letting the drugs kick in.

Jack gently moved his wife to a dryer spot and moved off to scout the area. "Wait here," he told the rest of them before walking off. "I'm gonna scout ahead."

Jack walked around the corner and looked up at the cliff that stretched upwards. When he came back Briggs and Kathryn were crouched over by a water current.

"Tyler," Jack called getting his brothers attention. "You and I are going up this wall,"

"But this is the main water flow," Kathryn protested. "We just follow it out of the system."

"When we get to the top," Jack continued, ignoring the female scientist. "We'll secure ropes and the rest of you will come up on ascenders."

"Jack," Charlie said. "I'm the best climber. I'll go first."

"On the contrary Charlie," Mickey's tired voice came from behind them. "I am the best."

Jack whipped around as quick as possible and crouched beside her.

"I'm fine," she said to his unasked question.

"Nobody's climbing anywhere," Briggs cut in before anyone else could say anything. "There's a huge exit sign right here in front of us."

"You don't have a goddamn clue what's going on," Jack interjected with a cold voice. "None of you do."

Mickey pushed herself up, using the wall as support. "It's a trap," she whispered.

Top looked around before agreeing. "The wall is the safest option."

"Jack's right," Charlie tried again. "I'll go."

"I said no," Jack told her sternly. "Let's go,"

He walked over to Mickey and helped her move along the wall to where they were going to climb.

"I'm fine Jack," she told him. "I just need to get feeling back into my leg." He nodded but still helped her sit against the wall.

Jack shined his light up onto the wall, pointing out a section to his brother. "See that?" there was an indent in the cliff face. "That's where we're going."

"I'll route the left," Tyler agreed. "Let's do it.

"All right," Jack nodded and walked over to set up the climbing gear.

A few minutes later, Top and Alex walked over holding onto a few gadgets.

"A little insurance for you guys," the Asian said holding out the object.

"Mickey thought of an idea, so," Top started explaining. "We bored out these propane valves to give you a nice flame for abut four or five feet."

Jack nodded before walking over to Mickey as Top continued to talk to Tyler.

"You gonna be alright?" he asked, crouching in front of her.

Mickey smiled slightly. "Feelings coming back, so I should be kicking your ass soon enough."

Jack shook his head before leaning over and kissing her on the forehead.

"It shouldn't be too long," he told her. Mick nodded and gestured for him to hurry up with his gear that was sitting beside her. Her husband paused though and tilted his head in Tyler's direction. Mickey looked over and noticed Kathryn whispering to her little brother. She quickly picked up their conversation.

"_-ill, Tyler,"_ she heard Kathryn saying. _"He's not fit to lead anymore, and neither is Mickey."_

They both glanced over at the couple.

"_He's not the man we started with,"_ Kathryn continued, referring to Jack. _"You know that."_

"_They're my family,"_ Tyler told the doctor sharply. Suddenly Mickey heard a sound and looked up, noticing that Charlie was climbing the wall.

"Charlie!" she screamed at the younger woman.

"I told you no!" Jack yelled as everyone got to their feet.

"Get the rope," Mickey told Top.

Briggs and Top quickly scrambled to the rope and got it secured properly.

"On belay," Top relayed to the group.

"What is she trying to prove?" Briggs asked as they watched the blonde quickly scale the wall.

"Who the best is," Mickey informed them, walking normally now that she had feeling back in her leg. "She sees this as a time to prove herself."

Jack quickly picked up a comm. unit and began to relay helpful information to Charlie. Soon enough, Charlie had made it over the edge and disappeared from view.

The team waited to receive word that she had found a way out.

"_Safe!"_ Charlie's out of breath voice came over the comms.

"Talk to me Charlie," Jack said over the line. "What's going on? Is the line set? We're ready to climb Charlie…Charlie?"

"_Jack, I'm over the edge. I can feel a draft."_

Everyone breathed out a sigh of relief and Jack got ready to climb. Suddenly they heard Charlie scream and Top felt the rope become taut.

"Charlie!" Jack screamed.

Suddenly the screaming stopped.

"Charlie? Talk to me," Jack said into the comm.

"Get me down!" Came Charlie's yell. "It's up here!"

"Get that rope free!" Jack called from where he was on the wall.

Jack went to climb again but he got hit with a major headache and couldn't move until it cleared.

They could hear Charlie screaming for help then it was silent again. A few seconds later they saw her jump across the gap between the walls and landed on the other side. Everyone let out breath of relief, thinking she was safe, until she screamed again.

"They fly! They freaking fly!"

Her screams echoed through the cavern as well as the dieing sounds of one of the creatures. Then all was silent.

Jack went over and climbed the other wall, bringing Charlie's body back down.

He laid her out on the ground against the wall and Top walked over with a sleeping bag. He handed it to Jack so they didn't have to look at theirs friend's dead body.

Jack then went and sat by Mickey along the wall. As he looked at his wife's sad face, he noticed that her pupils and iris had become a four-point star.

"There's enough secure rope to make it to the opening." Jack started, wanting to wait until they were alone to question the change.

"What's happening to you?" Alex asked cutting him off. "Both of you?" his questions caused everyone to look at the couple and noticed that their faces had become chalky pale.

Alex looked closer and noticed that Jack's eyes had changed just as he looked. Looking at Mickey, the Asian noticed that hers were already changed.

"As long as we stay together as a group, we can hold them back," Jack said ignoring Alex's questions.

Kathryn walked closing, her movement causing both Jack and Mickey to move their eyes to watch her allowing her to see the four point star.

"I think I know now," the doctor said, gaining everyone's attention. "It's a parasite."

"That's from a parasite?" Tyler asked.

Kathryn nodded. "It mutates the host, so they can both survive down here in this environment." Jack and Mickey looked away in unison, gazing with alert eyes into the dark.

"That's what's gonna happen to us?" Alex asked.

"I don't know Alex," Kathryn told him honestly. "I'd say, it entered their bloodstream though one of their cuts. It's affecting their nervous systems."

"So the other cavers…" Tyler paused. "…It happened to them."

Kathryn nodded.

"So, what, it just ate them?" Briggs asked.

"No," Kathryn told him. "They weren't eaten by the creatures. They are the creatures. Which explains why Mickey is still alive."

The group looked at her, as Mickey continued to gaze into the darkness.


	8. Chapter 8

The group looked at her, as Mickey continued to gaze into the darkness.

"It didn't bite to kill, but to infect," Kathryn informed the men. "These creatures were once men, so…" the scientist let the sentence hang.

"There hasn't been a female." Mickey finished.

"What does that mean?" Briggs asked as they looked at Mickey.

"They want to mate with her, Briggs," Jack explained in a flat voice, clenching his fist. "She is the _first_ female that has been infected."

Mickey opened her mouth to speak but snapped her head up into the darkness above them. The group then heard a trill of clicks, signifying that the creatures were listening.

"They're enjoying this, Kathryn," Jack informed her, a cold smile stretching across his face.

"So now you understand them Jack?" Briggs questioned angrily. Jack cast his eyes over the man, causing Briggs to swallow at the eerie look of his pupils.

"Jack," Tyler tried getting his brothers attention as Mickey's eyes followed something in the darkness. "Jack, you and Mickey are gonna be fine. You've gotten us this far."

"'Got us this far,' Tyler?" Briggs interrupted. "Come on. He got Charlie and Dr. Nicolai dead. That's what he got."  
"Briggs!" Mickey barked angrily, her voice cold. "Charlie died because she didn't listen. And as cruel as that sounds, it's the truth, and you know it."

Everyone bowed theirs heads, knowing that Charlie decided her fate the moment she didn't listen to Jack.

"Let's follow what we know," Kathryn suggested, trying to get the group back on track. "The river's the way out."

"Kathryn's right," Briggs agreed. "I'm with her." The man walked passed the group, heading to wards his gear.

"Who else is coming? Alex?"

The cameraman was silent, thinking.

"If you ever want to see the sunlight again," Jack's voice was flat and emotionless. "You should follow me now."

He pushed off of the ground and stood, reaching a hand back to help Mickey up.

Tyler and Alex locked eyes in a stare down, before the oriental man slowly turned away and heading for his diving gear.

"This is bullshit!" Tyler exclaimed. "We have to stay together."

"Tyler," Briggs whispered, unaware that the other McAllister's could hear him. "Look at them, they're not human."

Tyler looked over at his family, watching as Jack and Top hooked Mickey up to the rope.

"We need you with us," Briggs continued. Seeing that Tyler wasn't listening to the other man, Kathryn tried.

"Tyler," she called softly gazing at him hopefully.

"Good luck," the younger McAllister said before walking away to join his brother.

Mickey was already starting to climb and looked back down to see the other three head for their dive gear. Mickey shook her head at their stupidity and continued heading up. She stopped a few minutes later and waited for the men to catch up. Top nodded as her climbed by, a little unnerved by her eyes. She kept waiting until Jack was right beside her then continued in time with him and Tyler.

They made it to a crevice and Top helped pull them up. Tyler glanced back down and sadly watched as Kathryn, Briggs and Alex got into the water. Mickey gripped his shoulder, looking at him sadly.

"Tell we're doing the right thing." He asked looking into her eyes.

"Don't stop believing in him Ty," she told him quietly with a sad smile on her face. Top nodded in the background, agreeing with her statement.

Tyler nodded as Mickey walked by Top to follow jack out of the small tunnel. They followed the tunnel feeling the air get colder.

"It's getting colder," Top stated as he continued to walk behind Mickey.

They came out of the tunnel and saw ice covering the walls of a deep ravine.

"Where to?" Tyler asked Jack, shining his light up and down.

"Down," Mickey said before Jack could as she kneeled beside her husband.

"You sure?" Tyler question, looking at the woman.

Jack turned his head around, peering into his brother's eyes.

"Yeah, down," he said agreeing with Mickey. Tyler and Top glanced at each other, hesitating. From behind them, the signature clicking of a creature sounded. One suddenly flew by, trying to grab Mickey. She managed to move out of the way enough so that it didn't touch her, but the movement cause her foot to slip and she began to fall down into the ravine.

"Mickey!" Jack roared looking over the side. After a few tense seconds they got a reply.

"I'm good," she called up, from where she was holding a piece of the wall. "I managed to grab an outcrop."

"All right, we're coming down," Jack announced, his voice echoing off the walls.

Mickey nodded even though they couldn't see her and got a better grip on the ice. It didn't take long for Top to descend beside her. The black man continued going down and Mickey waited for Jack.

Her husband was just getting her hooked to the rope when they heard Tyler yell.

He had slipped causing his rebreather to snap off the rope and fall towards Top.

"Top, cover!" he yelled down, warning his friend.

They heard Top yell and watched as the rebreather knocked him off the wall.

As quick as possible they hurried down the rope, trying to see if Top was hurt badly.

Once Jack and Mickey arrived they helped Tyler get Top up after the younger man explained that Top had a broken leg.

Taking a look at a hole that was in the ice, jack and Mickey cautiously walked to it.

"The rebreather must have punched a hole through the ice," Tyler suggested, shining his light around.

"Yeah," Jack agreed, walking through the hole and taking a deep breath.

"Smells light methane," he stated, walking deeper into the hole.

The tunnel expanded into an opening that had steam floating around the air. Stalactites we dropping down from the ceiling and making crude pillars once they connected with the ground. They headed towards a flatter section that had water rushing in and out.

Mickey shined her light around, illuminating skeletons that were littering the wall.

Looks like some kind of killing ground," Top commented as he limped along.

'It's just like Nicolai's mosaic legend," Tyler realised.

'That means there's got to be an opening close by," Jack informed the group as Mickey continued to look at the bones. They continued down to the water and Jack walked in the check the current.

"Top! Tyler!" Jack called, wordlessly telling them to come to the edge. Jack quickly walked back out and stood by Mickey as the other two men came around a pillar.

"You see the light?" Jack asked, shining his flashlight onto the water.

"Yeah," Tyler nodded.

"There's cold water coming up," Mickey supplied, crouching down beside them. "That's the way out of here, Tyler."

"I think you're right," the younger man agreed, nodding.

"It must have been a dry passage," Jack mused. Suddenly he began to bend over in pain, feeling the parasite dig deeper into his body. Mickey moved quickly, pulling him down to use her body as a pillow until the pain stopped.

"Jack?" Tyler asked worried, watching Mickey as she rubbed his temples.

"What's going on, Mickey?" Tyler questioned, watching as his brother tried not to scream out in agony.

"The parasite, Tyler," she whispered, hugging Jack closer to her body.

"Why aren't you going through this?" he demanded.

Mickey glanced at him sharply as Jack's pain began to fade.

"I have been," she replied causing Tyler to think back to all the times she had been at the back of the group. "The parasite is just further along in my body."

"How you attacked after Jack above the falls…" Tyler trailed off noticing that Mickey had looked down. "It happened before then." The other McAllister stated.

Mickey nodded. "Back when Strode got attacked, I felt something cut my leg. I thought it was a rock, but I was wrong."

Tyler put his head into his hands, worried about what would happen to them.

Jack suddenly sat up, pulling away from Mickey. "You three are getting out, I'm going back for them."

"What are you talking about man?" Tyler asked, incredulous. "You're in no condition. Top can barely walk and Mickey needs rest before she falls over. I'll go back."

Jack looked at him sharply, anger plain in his face.

"Put your gear on and get in the water Tyler."

"I'm not getting in the water, and you're not going back," Tyler argued.

Mickey, sensing that Jack was about to attack his own brother, grabbed him from behind.

"Let him go, Jack." She reasoned with the angry man. "You know he's right."

Jack looked away, angrily walking out of Mickey's embrace.

"Now come on, Jack." Tyler tried. "You led us here. You were right. But I'm doing this now. I'm going back for them."

Jack took a deep breath and nodded slightly, allowing his little brother to walk away.


	9. Chapter 9

Mickey was the first to snap her head up when she hear the unmistakable trill of a creature.

"Shit," Jack spat out. "We got company."

The two men scrambled to get out of the open as Mickey watched the monster on the ceiling.

"He must have followed us in here," she said, backing up slowly towards cover. They all laid down close to the ground and watched as it entered the cavern.

"This thing has got to have a weakness," Top whispered. Mickey nodded, observing the creature's every move.

"Yeah," Jack vocalised his agreement. "Everything's got to have a weakness."

"Where is it?" Top asked, not being able to tell where it was.

"It's moving," Jack pointed in the general directions of the monster.

Suddenly Mickey turned around and pushed the other two to the side as another one flew at them. They jumped up after it flew passed and Jack followed it with his eyes.

"It took one of the rebreathers," Top informed them, not seeing the second one on the ground.

"He's playing with us," Mickey said nodding.

Top sat down to rest in a small crevice big enough to fit his body while Mickey and Jack took cover behind a boulder.

"They gotta be here somewhere," they heard Tyler's voice echo an hour later.

"But where?" came a female's tone. Kathryn.

"Jack? Top? Mickey?" Tyler called each of their names.

"Quiet," Jack told them, coming up from the water with Top and Mickey. "Kill your light." He said as he set down his gear and crouched on the ground. The others followed suit.

"Where's Briggs?" Mickey asked, crouching in front of Tyler.

The younger man shook his head and Mickey looked at the ground, sad at the loss of another part of her family.

A trill echoed out into the cavern.

"They're watching us," Jack enlightened the new comers as he looked up at the ceiling. "They see with sound. And the steam, it's confusing them."

"They took one of our rebreathers, but they've left us alone since." Mickey briefed them. "They're waiting on something."

"There were more right behind us," Tyler said, glancing back at where they came.

"We should get in the water now," Jack stated, still watching the roof. They all turned when a growl sounded out and Kathryn held out a sonar gun.

"Look, this works for a while," she told Jack.

"We have to split out those tanks," Tyler mused. "The air and the oxygen. It won't last long but it's our only choice." Top began to pull apart the rebreather.

"We need the other rebreather, Tyler," Jack told his brother and he and Mickey stood up to show him where it was.

"You see it there?" Jack pointed to a pillar where the canister was sitting.

"I'm gonna go for it. You get the rest of them in the water." Jack lowered his arm and shared a look with his brother.

"Jack," they both turned and looked at Mickey. "You know you wont make it that far without help."

She pointed higher up at the two creatures that were circling the pillar. Both McAllister men opened their mouths to protest but she held up a hand.

"You both know I'm right,"

Tyler nodded reluctantly and, looking at his brother's face, walked over to the rest of the group.

"Don't say anything Jack," Mickey said before her husband could open his mouth. "I'm not leaving without you."

Jack wrapped her in his arms and kissed the side of her head. "I know," he whispered sadly.

"When we get out of here," she started after a few seconds. "We are going on a long vacation to Pitcairn."

Jack smiled bitterly. "Still own a patch of land?"

He felt her nod and they separated. Mickey looked into his eyes, knowing that there was a possibility that they wouldn't see daylight again. She smiled sadly and looked back towards the group.

Without saying anything they both began to walk away, heading for the rebreather.

"Jack. Mickey," Kathryn called out to them. They both stopped and looked back at her. The scientist didn't say anything but nodded. Mickey smiled slightly and they both continued on.

They made it over to a slightly covered area and crouched down, observing the creatures. After a few seconds they quickly headed to the pillar.

Mickey was almost at it when they heard a loud bang echo through the cave. Jack quickly looked to where the others were as the creatures responded to the noise.

"We have to hurry," she whispered, covering the rest of the distance. They began to climb just as a pained yell sounded out. They were almost at the top when Mickey looked down to see one of the monsters at the base.

"Jack," she called out, causing him to look down and see it. Jack cursed and gestured for her to keep climbing.

They reached the rebreather just as Tyler called out. He had seen the monster following them up the pillar.

"Jack! Mickey!"

Jack swung down with a pick and hit the creature directly in the face, causing it to let go of the stone. Though it caught itself with one claw. As quick as possible, Mickey unhooked the tanks from the casing.

"Tyler!" she yelled, catching his attention. When he was looking she threw the tank down to him. She then grabbed the explosive part of the rebreather and held on to Jack as the creature managed to climb it's way back up to them.

"Jack! Mick! There's another one!" Tyler shouted, and they both looked up to see the second one crawling on the roof.

Mickey quickly lit a flare and handed it to her husband who had pooped open the canister.

"Jack, no!" Tyler screamed when he realised what they were about to do.

Jack ignored his brother and stuck the flare into the canister.

"Go!" Jack yelled to the others before he threw the canister into the water. Seconds later is exploded causing the cave to started falling around them. He then wrapped an arm around Mickey as the second creature headed towards them.

"I love you, Mick," he said quickly, wanting them to be his final words.

Mickey closed her eyes and let a tear trail down her cheek. "I love you too Jack." She said in return before pulling out a knife.

They both jumped at the same time, hitting the second creature and causing them all to fall through the air.

The last thing Mickey heard before loosing consciousness was Tyler's scream.

"No!"

Then everything went black.

As he swam away under the water, Tyler looked back and thought he saw Mickey, but when he blinked she was gone.

A few days later, Tyler and Kathryn were sitting outside of a coffee shop in Romania, having said goodbye to Top.

"Tyler?" Kathryn asked, noticing that he had a far off look on his face.

"I'm sorry," he whispered.

"You're thinking about them," Kathryn said, leaning back in her chair.

"Yeah," Tyler admitted leaning towards her. "You said that parasite was changing them. I mean, they never would have survived out here, could they?"

Kathryn took off her sunglasses, thinking over her theories.

"The rate at which the parasite was affecting them," she began. "If they were no longer in a cave environment, the parasite would have adapted to survive. It is possible that they could have lived out here."

Tyler leaned back as she looked at him.

"We never will know," she told him softly. The youngest McAllister, or rather, only McAllister, nodded sadly. He stood up from his chair and began to hail a cab, leaving Kathryn to watch him sadly. When a cab pulled up he held open the door, a silent offer to her.

Kathryn smiled before grabbing her bag and quickly ran to him. They both got in the cab and left what happened in the cave behind them.


	10. Chapter 10

Epilogue

ONE YEAR LATER

On a piece of land on the Pitcairn Islands a man in his thirties pushed open a door while carrying two beer bottles. He quickly walked down a path, heading to a beautiful sandy beach. Where, coincidentally, a beautiful woman was waiting.

The setting sun was illuminating the world in a reddish orange glow as the man handed the woman her drink before sitting behind her.

He let her lean her body back to rest on his and he wrapped his arms around her shoulders. The woman let out a contented sigh, linking their left hands together. The action caused their wedding bands to clink softly.

The man kissed the side of her head as the last rays of sun illuminated a four-point star in each of their eyes.

The man tapped his bottle gently against hers as he whispered in her ear.

"Happy Anniversary, Mick,"

Mickey smiled and tilted her head back enough to see Jack's face.

"Happy Anniversary," she whispered before kissing him.

The End.


End file.
